Joseph Griffin was jogging in his neighborhood in Deltona, Florida late last month when he was stopped by law enforcement. Police were searching for a black man with a beard, white tank top, and dark shorts. Griffin just so happened to be wearing the exact outfit and match the description. Griffin, a former military police officer and registered nurse, turned what could have been an unfortunate situation into a heartwarming example of the way things ought to be.

When he was stopped, Griffin started livestreaming the event, voicing his concerns as a black man. 

The Daily Wire transcribed some of the conversation.

“Just bear with me, because you fit the description,” a deputy is heard saying on the video. “I’m not saying you’re guilty, [but] my sergeant’s telling me to detain you.”

Griffin tells the deputy he “just had a daughter born two days ago.”

“Again, buddy, you’re not under arrest,” the deputy says.

Griffin moves to put his cell phone down as he is placed in handcuffs, but “the deputy then offered to hold Griffin’s cell phone for him to continue live streaming their interaction,” the station notes.

He keeps calm and tells the deputies, “With everything going on, it’s just a little bit scary.”

“See it through our eyes,” one deputy says, and later adds: “We appreciate you being very cooperative.”

“I’m not trying to get shot over this,” Griffin says with a smile before laughing.

“Let’s avoid that race card cuz’ it ain’t here, I promise you that,” the deputy says.

I’m so impressed by all of the parties involved here.  The police officer was so understanding of Griffin’s concerns, he even continued to film the incident for him. What a beautiful reminder of what ‘protect and serve’ means. By filming the encounter to his livestreamed audience, the police were not only trying to keep the situation calm, but were protecting him.

The police brought a witness to the scene who was able to verify Griffin wasn’t the thief. 

“Wrong place wrong time,” Griffin cheerfully said after the police released him. He had all the right to be angry but instead acknowledged the difficulties law enforcement face. 

“I don’t want this to be a bashing of the sheriff’s office, I want it to be an enlightening thing. Anybody can be profiled,” Griffin stated to the West Volusia Beacon. “On the law-enforcement-compliance side, it’s a good example of how to handle yourself. If I wasn’t calm and respectful, it could have turned into something different. There are multiple instances of the same thing that ends up with someone going to jail, getting a felony for assault, because they fight back.”

The sheriff department, clearly inspired by Griffin’s selflessness and maturity, offered him a job. 

“Mr. Griffin is a military veteran and a medical professional, and I told him we’d train and hire him as a deputy in a second if he ever wants a new job,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.

What a heart-warming bright spot in a year of terrible news and behavior.  May we all endeavor to treat each other as we would want to be treated.

Hat Tip: The Daily WireWest Volusia Beacon

Image Credit: Pikist

 

About The Author

Mark was a co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, and served as the national coordinator. He left the organization to work more broadly on expanding the self-governance movement beyond the partisan divide. Mark appears regularly on television in outlets as diverse as MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox Business and the BBC. He’s highly sought after for the tea party perspective from print and electronic media outlets, from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, L.A. Times, Washington Examiner, Politico and the The Hill. Mark blogs at MarkMeckler.com, and his opinion editorials regularly run in many of the leading political newspapers both on and offline. Mark has a BA in English from San Diego State University and graduated with honors from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1988. He practiced real estate and business law for almost a decade. For the last eleven years of his legal career he specialized in Internet advertising law. When not fighting for the future of our nation, Mark is an avid horseman, and lives in rural northern California with his wife Patty and two children.

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